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Statement on the content of the 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey

Statement on the content of the 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey

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OTTAWA — The Chief Statistician issued the following statement on the 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey:

"In May 2016, Statistics Canada will conduct the Census of Population and the National Household Survey and will once again count on the support of more than 14 million households from coast to coast to coast to participate.

Compared to 2011, there are two changes to the questions to be asked in the 2016 National Household Survey. First, in order to reduce the time required and make it easier for Canadians to respond to the National Household Survey, income questions will be replaced with more precise tax and benefit data that have been available to Statistics Canada since 1985. As this will be done for all Canadians, income information for 2016 will be the most accurate in the history of the census.

Second, the question on religion will not be included in the 2016 National Household Survey as it has only been asked every 10 years, since 1871.

Canada has led the world in online census collection in the past decade with its leading edge methodology. In 2016, we are counting on the continued cooperation of Canadians to set a new world record.

Over the course of the next several months, Statistics Canada will engage with community officials to actively promote the 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey with a special emphasis in rural and remote areas to maximize response rates.

The 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey will give Canadians valuable information to measure how Canadian society is evolving and will provide a wealth of information on Canadians' occupations and educational attainment, the languages they speak, their ethnic origins and citizenship, the economic health of families and more.

The Census of Population and the National Household Survey are by far the most reliable and accurate sources of Canadian socioeconomic information at the national, provincial, territorial and community levels.

I am very enthusiastic about the work conducted by Statistics Canada and the improvements we've introduced to the 2016 Census of Population and the National Household Survey. I trust that Canadians will benefit from the various ways at their disposal to complete their questionnaire, and that the majority will choose our easy, convenient and secure online option."